thecalgaryflames.comhttp://thecalgaryflames.com
Current line combinations, roster and thoughts on the previous game.Fri, 04 Nov 2016 16:41:57 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.6.115296428Calgary Flames 3, San Jose Sharks 2http://thecalgaryflames.com/2016/11/04/calgary-flames-3-san-jose-sharks-2/
http://thecalgaryflames.com/2016/11/04/calgary-flames-3-san-jose-sharks-2/#commentsFri, 04 Nov 2016 16:40:47 +0000http://thecalgaryflames.com/?p=2820Matthew Tkachuk, in his 10th game of the season, scored twice to defeat San Jose. That was the Sharks first home loss of the season.

The 10-game milestone has traditionally been a big deal with rookies, however we’re seeing more and more teams keep their rookies in order to have them develop in the NHL rather than the AHL — or in Tkachuk’s case the OHL.

The story for the Flames continues to be, where is the top line? They’ve been invisible for 11 games this year. It was encouraging to see Glen Gulutzan put Giordano and Brodie back together again, and after the Sharks game can’t imagine them being split up again.

For all the fuss that’s been made over the Flames’ poor start, they are 1 point under .500 and 4 points out of first in the conference. Now that they are on the road they are starting to play a little better, maybe the crazy November schedule is just what they needed.

]]>http://thecalgaryflames.com/2016/11/04/calgary-flames-3-san-jose-sharks-2/feed/12820Calgary Flames 5, Ottawa Senators 2 – Flames are .500!http://thecalgaryflames.com/2016/10/29/calgary-flames-5-ottawa-senators-2-flames-are-500/
Sat, 29 Oct 2016 15:00:56 +0000http://thecalgaryflames.com/?p=2816Well now the Flames have won three games in a row, they are back to .500 and Elliot is looking like the goaltender that we all thought we were getting when he was signed this past summer. Have things turned around? Is the system working? And where is T.J. Brodie?

Similar to the first three games of the season, these are another three games. This is why you don’t judge a team by a game or a small body of work, because averages start becoming averages only when you have a good sample size. This is why winning percentage isn’t even worth looking at until you’re 20 games into a season. This is why you can’t look at the standings until you’re at least 10 games in to the season.

I’m sure everyone is aware of this and we all understand that ‘two points at the beginning of the season is the same as two points at the end.’ But really the trick is to maintain a .600 winning percentage and you do that by being as consistent as possible. Streaking teams run out of energy over the course of a year and their fans really don’t want to rely on having one more winning streak than a losing one.

Believe me, it’s draining.

]]>2816St. Louis Blues 6, Calgary Flames 4http://thecalgaryflames.com/2016/10/23/st-louis-blues-6-calgary-flames-4/
Mon, 24 Oct 2016 02:25:57 +0000http://thecalgaryflames.com/?p=2811Actually I think this score favours the Flames. If it wasn’t for the questionable goaltending of Jake Allen — and excellent goaltending by Chad Johnson — this game could have been much worse.

The bright spot was Chad Johnson, who has emerged as Calgary’s number one goaltender while Brian Elliot works through some issues. I also thought Versteeg, Bennett and Ferland all had strong games. Now that I think about it, so did Girodano. Hamilton, on the other hand, made some pretty glaring mistakes that led to Blues goals. Most expensive mistake since Matt Stajan.

Noticeably absent was Matthew Tkachuk. I’m not sure if he got nicked up, but he didn’t play in the St. Louis game.

Check out HockeyBuzz’s When it rains, it pours post on the start the Flames are off to. Todd’s got more time than I do.

Well at least we got a goal from Gaudreau, and the penalty kill looked okay — despite allowing 2 goals. The power play however, yikes. The Flames went 0-for-6 with the man-advantage and are 1-for-22 this season.

Summary:

Jeff Skinner had a goal and an assist, and Eddie Lack made 24 saves to help the Carolina Hurricanes to a 4-2 win against the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome on Thursday.

]]>2806Calgary Flames 4, Buffalo Sabres 3 (OT)http://thecalgaryflames.com/2016/10/19/calgary-flames-4-buffalo-sabres-3-ot/
Wed, 19 Oct 2016 13:19:21 +0000http://thecalgaryflames.com/?p=2804Well of all the games that Calgary has played so far, this was one of them.

I’d say it was the game that they most deserved to lose, but the second game against Edmonton was that. For this game they actually played pretty well, out-shooting Buffalo 34-21, however Chad Johnson had to be sharp. The Sabres had a lot of good scoring chances in those 21 shots, and 3 went in, which doesn’t speak to how well Johnson played.

Calgary had a goal called ‘on’, have you ever seen that? I haven’t. The Flames scored after the whistle and the goal was immediately waved off, but then after discussion the refs announced it as a good goal. Weird.

In overtime Monahan cross-checked Reinhart (I think it was) right into the boards, took the puck and after a couple passes scored in overtime. I kept waiting for the whistle to call that boarding penalty but it never came.

I heard it explained best on the Fan960 this morning, that Calgary was due for a little puck luck. And that is just what happened.

Summary.

Overview:

Sean Monahan scored 2:26 into overtime to give the Calgary Flames a 4-3 win against the Buffalo Sabres at Scotiabank Saddledome on Tuesday.

]]>2804Calgary Flames 1, Vancouver Canucks 2 (SO)http://thecalgaryflames.com/2016/10/16/calgary-flames-1-vancouver-canucks-2-so/
Sun, 16 Oct 2016 17:09:25 +0000http://thecalgaryflames.com/?p=2800That makes three losses in three games, each of which were lost in their own unique way.

Game 1. Elliot couldn’t stop a shot. After surrendering 6, the Flames were in too deep a hole.

Game 2. The Flames came out flying in the first period, then disappeared for the last 40 mins. It was bizarre. The PP and PK that were great in the first game were non-existent in this one.

Game 3. Calgary could not score a goal. The only reason this game went to OT was because Louis Eriksson scored into his own net to give Calgary the lead until the final 3 minutes. Then Calgary couldn’t even score in four shootout attempts.

What a garbage way to start the season… with six points up for grabs against arguably the two worst teams in the league Calgary comes away with one point.

]]>2800Two games in and we’re already down 12-7 to the Oilershttp://thecalgaryflames.com/2016/10/15/two-games-in-and-were-already-down-12-7-to-the-oilers/
Sat, 15 Oct 2016 20:40:12 +0000http://thecalgaryflames.com/?p=2797So the first loss I get. Elliot was awful, Grossman didn’t help by repeatedly setting up Oilers in our own slot and McDavid got a penalty shot awarded for some reason. The Oilers scored seven on 28 shots. The first two shots of the game went in. So I get it.

The second loss however, I do not get. Here’s Elliot after the first loss:

“It was kind of one of those nights where everything that could go wrong, did go wrong,” Elliott said. “That’s not the way you want to start the season. The good thing is we have these guys back at home [Friday] and we’ll get back to the drawing board.”

So I don’t know what was written on that drawing board, but I’m going to guess it was “Goaltending = Better.” It seemed to be at the expense of the rest of the team.

Calgary had 24 shots in the first period, then 11 shots in the last two. Calgary was 0-5 on the powerplay and Edmonton was 2-4. It was embarassing.

Also Elliot’s GAA is 5.07 and Sv% is .818. I hope that’s not what’s on the drawing board.

]]>2797Gaudreau signs 6-year, $40.5 contract – also other stuff has happened!http://thecalgaryflames.com/2016/10/11/gaudreau-signs-6-year-40-5-contract/
Tue, 11 Oct 2016 23:27:24 +0000http://thecalgaryflames.com/?p=2790It’s a big day, and I don’t have a lot of time so here are the highlights:

Gaudreau’s six-year, $40.5 million contract, will pay him the same amount of money Mark Giordano makes annually – $6.75 million. I can’t tell you what a great deal I think this is, I thought for sure we’d be in the $7-8M/year range.

Treliving also inked Kris Versteeg – fresh off a tryout with the Edmonton Oilers – and rumour has it he may take Michael Ferland’s spot on the top line with Gaudreau and Monahan. The best part is that the Oilers made him an offer and he turned it down.

“When you look at his production, when you look at what Sean’s done over the three years, he’s been at the high-end of that level,” Treliving said.

I though the deal was fair for both sides. I liked the term but I didn’t like the amount, so I guess it balances out. You have to pay more for a first-line centre than you would most other positions so if this the deal that kept Sean here, then that’s the deal I’m happy with.

Calgary inked Troy Brouwer to a four-year/$18-million deal and goaltender Chad Johnson to a one-year/$1.7 million deal. Along with draft day trade acquisition Brian Elliot you’ve got to be happy with what the Flames acquired.

Joe Colborne has signed for two years at $2.5M per season with the Colorado Avalanche. This is probably the off-season move that has me the most upset. Colborne has slowly improved over the last few years and should probably improve for the next few more before plateauing.

Also Mason Raymond was bought out of his contract, so he’ll be looking for a job come fall.